Ballard High School team “Viking Robotics” are competing in the Seattle Regional FIRST Robotics Competition this week at CenturyLink field.
Over the last six weeks, 64 teams of high school students have built remote-controlled robots from the scratch in preparation for the event. During the competition, students will test their robots against other teams to see who will be crowned champion. The robots will be tested on their ability to throw Frisbees into goals. Winning teams will then advance to FIRST National Championship to be held on April 24-27 in St. Louis, Mo.
Viking Robotics was founded in 2008 by BHS engineering teacher Craig Nielsen with the goal of sparking student interest in engineering and technology. The team is now 40 members strong. “As excitement takes root, we hope more students will embrace engineering and technology studies in high school, university, and their careers,” wrote Nielsen on the team’s website. According to Nielsen, the team name choice was obvious, with our neighborhood’s roots and connections to Scandinavian countries.
This week’s competition is hosted by FIRST, a not-for-profit organization which is dedicated to inspiring young people’s interest in science, technology and engineering. It is the second regional that Viking Robotics are attending, after they attended the Central Washington Regional last week where they seeded 10th.
Nielsen is confident about Viking Robotics chances and is proud of the success of the team. “Since its creation the team has allowed students to explore their interest in mechanics and technology,” wrote Nielsen on the team’s website.
To learn more about Viking Robotics, check out their Facebook page here.
We will update readers on the results of this week’s competition. Good luck Viking Robotics!
Photos courtesy of Viking Robotics.
